Busdriver's entries...

[Mark]

OK, I've got just under a month so let's see how I get on with these.

First up is the Revell A330-300, converted using BraZ's conversion set to represent a -200 flying for Emirates. The second build will be the Revell A340-300, this one being converted to a -600 with, once again, the BraZ conversion set and will be in the livery of Virgin Atlantic. Finally, and to ease my sanity, a regular OOB A319 and this will be a retro Iberia one.

The decals are from Ray Charles' TwoSix Decals for the Iberia. The Emirate's aircraft will have the Brazil Decals sheet BD144-14 and the Virgin Atlantic A340-600 has the supplied decals in the conversion set produced by Draw Decals.

I'm sure that most of you know what a Revell Airbus kit looks like, so I'll skip the sprue shots and concentrate on the builds themselves; after all, there's not much time left!

The A330-200 was started first and the fuselage has been chopped using the guide produced by DACO and kindly given to me by Dave Swindell. Two sections, one forward and one aft of the wing were cut out and the resulting surgery did indeed result in the more aesthetically pleasing -200.

The A340 conversion is going to be a bit tougher as rumours and reviews suggested that Ivo's BraZ conversion for the -600 was a bit narrower in cross-section than the donor kit resulting in horrendous amounts of filler. Well, here's mine and all I can say is Wow! I have never undertaken a conversion of this kind before and the fit is not beyond my meagre talents. Yes, there is a slight (and I mean very slight!) step between the kit and the resin insert, but nothing that a bit of filler and some wet 'n' dry will not fix. The difference in circumference is probably due to modellers having sanded the conversion insert's moulding blocks off. So I left the top of each half as it was and concentrated on doing each fuselage half separately, getting the nose and tail sections to fit onto the resin insert neatly. This resulted in much less work than trying to complete each section independently and then trying to attach three tubes together! The resulting and inevitable gap is now along the top of the centre section and is therefore very easily dealt with. Did any of that make sense? Oh well, here are some photos...

A comparison between the two shows just how big the A340-600 is. After all, the A330-200 is not exactly small!!

And here's a comparison between the two conversions and an unconverted A340-300 fuselage so that you can see the fuselage differences between them all.

I did say that I needed a sanity restoring build! And having spent some time thinking about what I could do whilst the filler, glue and paints dry on the widebodies, I thought I'd stick with the Airbus theme and just complete a simple OOB of the Revell A319. Here's the progress so far, all primed and ready for the gloss!

I had better run now as I've got the day off and some serious modelling to do! But first, a coffee.....

More later this evening.

Edited September 9, 2010 by busdriver

[dylan the rabbit]

Oh to have the time off like you do Mark..... :shithappens:

[Mark]

Glad you're busy though Nick! Better be busy than not when you're running your own show I guess?

[keefr22]

Well, never let it be said that you're not ambitious Mark! I'm struggling with my o.o.b. Revell Constellation!

Good luck with that lot!!

Keef

[Mark]

Hi Keef,

Well, as Nick said, I've just got too much time off, but ssshhhh, don't tell easyJet!!

[FalkeEins]

..very nice and watching with interest... I just had a month off and didn't finish a thing !

[Mark]

Well, I've had a rather productive morning today, mostly cleaning up the modelling room as it looks like a bomb has gone off in there!!

But there has been some modelling activity and after cutting the fuselage halves to the required size, the nose section of the A330-200 is now ready to have the internal detailing completed prior to securing it to the centre section. I'm going with decals for the windshields as a.) it matches the other airliners on the shelf and b.) it's easier!

I've also been working on the undercarriage and added some detailing, well, just the brake hydraulic lines. It's difficult enough trying to replicate this with fuse wire, so I left it at that and just painted the ends that are flexible with an acrylic blue. On the real thing the steel hydraulic pipes end at connectors which are held onto the undercarriage leg by a bracket, the flexible hoses are then attached to the other end of the connector and enter the brake units. The brake units themselves are painted white, whilst the other side, although unseen, is painted magnesium to replicate the carbon discs. If I did a hangar diorama you'd see them! The wheels are painted white but the Emirates A330-200's had brake fans, so the kit wheels are wrong. I'm not sure about Virgins A340-600s wheels; does anyone know if you can find aftermarket brake fan units in 1/144th? Are am I now being really anal? Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the finished result, especially as they're out of sight under the wings!

The fuselage windows have all been filled after having been masked around them. Once dried, the filler can be easily sanded back and then finally polished with a fine grade paper.

If you're observant, you might see the rather over-scale straps holding the hydraulic lines to the gear legs. These are just temporary and are holding them in place until the CA cures. The really observant of you will notice that I've also given the camera sensor a really good clean too!

Anyway, I'm flying to Rome this afternoon, so got to stop modelling and get the Bat Suit on; in the meantime it's been a good morning and here some pics.

Edited September 11, 2010 by busdriver

[keefr22]

Ooh, I'm liking those brake lines, terrific stuff!! Lovely undercarriage units!! But have you tried lead wire? Much easier to work than fuse wire! Relish have just had a re-stock of it according to yesterday's newsletter!

Are am I now being really anal?

Yes! But more power to your elbow! I love reading about details like this from those in the know!!

Anyway, I'm flying to Rome this afternoon, so got to stop modelling and get the Bat Suit on; in the meantime it's been a good morning and here some pics.

Have a good trip, hope the weather down there is better than grotty South Wales today, heavy rain, 10/10ths & zero visibility!!

Keef

[Mark]

Late finish last night, Madrid ATC....Grrrrrr.... Anyway, that's another story.

Early start today and quite excited about spending a whole day tickling the plastic. Keef, yes, I did think about lead wire, but the stuff that I have is incredibly soft. Great for short detailed runs in enclosed spaces (car engine ignition leads?) but I will try it on the other 'bus as I've only done the A330-200 units so far.

I have to be incredible disciplined though as last night when I got back there on the dining room table was a package all the way from Chicago. Yep, my eBay bid on a Minicraft B707 with the JT4's proved successful and there she is now, looking at me saying 'Build me! Build me now!' I have the Equatoriana decals from TwoSix and a gold B707 just has to be done at some point! And before anyone says anything, yes I do have the corrected nose.

But that's for another day and so it's back to the 'busses...

Here's the result of the filling the windows yesterday:

I should have mentioned that the A330-200 has a completely different fin, which is different even on the same mark! Two fins are seen on A330-200s and are pre and post c/n 555. The later type is 50cm shorter with a much larger base reinforcement fairing. Both types are available from BraZ and a quick check on t'Internet will easily tell you which c/n the aircraft is. All Emirates A330s are pre-c/n 555 and so use the taller, earlier fin, here's a good link: A330-200 c/n

The nose section needs the nose gear bay fitting and then it can be attached to the centre section, the join filled and then sanded down. As that's all drying I'll be doing the other undercarriage units and have a go at the engines. As these are conversions from the original kits, none of the kit engines are being used. The A340-600 engines are RR Trent 500s and the Emirates A330-200, also RR powered, this time using the Trent 700. All engines are BraZ and look rather nice.

I'll keep the updates coming but first things first, time for a coffee!

Edited September 11, 2010 by busdriver

[Kev1n]

like the gear legs

the problem with doing it so quickly is yoy dont get the chance to fill it with detail

your skill level obviously mean you can.....

[Micha]

I wish, I would be a pilot

I love to fly but can't afford a ticket 'cos I'm early retired through some bad kidney stuff, a transplantation and cancer.

@busdriver ... do you wanna swap for a day?

[Mark]

Morning Kev, thank you! From you, high praise indeed! And Micha, yep, I'm a very lucky guy doing something that I love and am fortunate enough to be doing a job that a lot of people would love to do. I've been on various Airbus's now since 1999 and after eight years with Emirates, I'm now with easyJet and actually thought of you the other day as I spent a week working out of Schoenefeld and thought about that IL-62 crash that you described recently.

But more than my career, I have my health and that is worth more to me than anything as I know how quickly things can turn around. I hope that you are past the bad times now Micha.

A long day's modelling yesterday followed by an evening in the city with Zuzana meant that there were not the frequent updates that I hoped for, but the progress has been fairly swift with the fuselage of the A330-200 being almost complete, just the front join to sand down. The NLG (nose landing gear) sits a little too deep in the gear bay and this results in the lights disappearing slightly behind the gear doors. It should be easy to correct, but I'll leave that until last I think. What is sad is that all the detail in the gear bay is now hidden behind the closed doors which would normally only be open during maintenance and, of course, during gear transit.

The tailfin was a delight to attach. With no fixed points, the fin was just butt-fitted with CA and is a much stronger assembly than it first appeared. A quick whizz round with the filler made the gaps disappear and all was left to dry fully.

I'm still not sure which registration to use, the decals have A6-EAE, but I did collect -EKZ brand new from Toulouse in October 2000, so maybe should do that if I can find suitable decals.

The A340-600 has had slower progress but the MLG (main landing gear) bays have been assembled and fit beautifully inside the BraZ fuselage centre section. I really don't know why this conversion set has been given the negative reviews that it has. Yes, it requires a lot of extra work, but I doubt that we will see an injected -500 or -600. Yes, at £85 it is also costly, but there are limited numbers of these conversions and no-one seems to mind paying that for an Aeroclub 1/48th Jet Provost on eBay. I cannot praise Ivo highly enough for having the balls to make and release this conversion. Just one problem though, I can't find an engine.... It's around here somewhere!

Right, here are a few shots of the progress so far.

Here are the MLG bays and lower fuselage insert. A great fit with all components and a nice and snug fit to the respective fuselage sections. The A330 has no centre gear so is blanked off whereas the A340 has two types of centre gear, either a two (no brakes) and four wheel unit (with brakes). The Revell kit, being a -300, has only the two wheel gear, the four wheel gear, complete with the braking units is supplied in the BraZ conversion. On the MLG there are a couple of data placards, these were replicated by the use of the 1/32nd Aircraft Data Placards by Reheat.

Here you can see the NLG landing and taxi lights. These were represented using MV lenses. I got mine from a now closed model shop, but I know that Paul at Little-Cars does do his own range of lenses.

The A330-200 tailfin. The early type being used here on Emirates aircraft. I have also decided to use the A330 stabiliser and elevator set.

The detail in the NLG bay is now hidden by the doors, but I know it's there!

And here she is, all complete and ready for a good sanding!

Hope you like it so far. Time to get the Nespresso machine kicked into life and then start another day's modelling! More later.....

[keefr22]

You've made more progress on these in two days Mark, than I have on my Connie in the last month!! Really must extract my digit....!!

Looking really good all round!

Keef

[Mark]

Yep Keef, get yer finger out mate!

[richellis]

Looking good. Would I be able to get the bits of fuselage off the 600 conversion off you? Could also do with the wings if you dont need those to!

[Mark]

PM Inbound Rich...

[mitchem]

Very impressive !

Think I could quite easily sit back and watch your builds develop, instead of messing around with my Airbrush and Boeing Grey, etc, etc.

mike

[Micha]

thanks for the nice words, busdriver

[woody37]

Love the work you've done on the U/C. Enjoying seeing these progress mate.

[Mark]

Guys, thanks for the kind comments. It really is appreciated when you get some kind words regarding the efforts and hours spent in the modelling room; thank you.

As far as today has been concerned, I've done a bit of work on the A330-200, but predominantly spent time clearing up and cleaning out the model room in search for the missing Trent 500 for the A340-600 which would have been a tri-jet had I not found it, just now, hiding behind the door! So, I'm a happy little Busdriver now.

Tonight should see more progress but I'm a bit loathed to dirty the modelling room now it is spotless!

[Mark]

Another fairly productive day and the A330-200 is coming along nicely, but the A340-600 has not been ignored. The bigger bus's MLG bay was constructed and dry-fitted in place to check for any surgery that may have been required on the resin; I needn't have worried...

The smaller bus saw mostly attention to the various seams and joins and then the wings were attached. She's certainly looking like my favourite Airbus widebody now! One thing that had to be sourced from the aftermarket box of goodies was the top mounted satellite receiver housing. These are also available from BraZ and you get about nine along a strip of resin moulding block. I can't remember where I got these, but I know they'd come in useful one day! A quick check of my references and the small resin piece was adhered in place.

It's time a packed up for the night now, so I'll just leave you with today's photographs.

Here's the MLG bay fitting nicely inside the BraZ fuselage halves for the A340-600.

Everything looks about right as the final sanding, filling, sanding, filling, sanding part of the build gets underway.

Flaws are inevitably found and are given another application of filler, allowing to dry and then sanded down again.

The fit of the tailfin proved excellent!

Surprisingly the winglets came with filled in navigation lights and so a little swipe with a file soon sorted that out. How I am going to represent them is still under debate.

The BraZ Satellite housings are generic and are invaluable if doing a modern airliner.

With the wings now attached, the roots were masked either side of the seam and then filled.

The satellite receiver housing now in place, the wing roots filled, the windscreen in place and almost ready for some more primer.

A close-up of the resin satellite receiver housing.

[Micha]

An A340-600 ... never seen one

I guess, yours will be my first ever seen super-long A340

[Mark]

A very quick update with a few pics.

The cockpit windshield has been attached and filled; I'll be using decals here.

The winglets are nicely moulded and have had the navigation lights filed out. These will be filled with CA and sanded/polished smooth. The lights will be coloured clear resin pieces that I picked up from Hannants years ago. I think these were made by CMK? Anyway, the bulbs will be glued in place in the recess and then covered over with the CA, which after polishing up, should look better than the kit had them represented.

Here she is in the final throes of sanding/filling prior to the final coat of primer. But guess what? I'm still finding slight flaws, so it's out with the filler again!

I've been concentrating on the A330-200 simply because it's a learning vehicle as I know the A340-600 will be a bit more demanding. But I can't wait to start the painting of her, with Xtracolour's two part mica paint for the current scheme. Anyone know which red is best for Virgin's current scheme? And whilst I am getting the A340-600 ready to start on her again, let's have a quick look at a very inspiring video for this build....

Coffee anyone?

Edited September 13, 2010 by Busdriver

[Micha]

What a great advertisement!

Never seen it before.

um ... the red ... could it be the same red like Air Berlin?

Then it would be 98% of Revell 31 (fiery red, gloss) + 2% of Revell 52 (blue, gloss)

[Mark]

OK, a quick update and after a great few days off. Sadly I have to work tomorrow morning!! But I'm sure there'll be a bit more progress before the day is over.

Here are the engines. They are moulded in two parts and here one's finished after having had the fill/sand/prime/fill/sand treatment, the other is still to be finished.

And here she is, the A330-200, finally sanded/filled/sanded/filled/sanded/primed/filled/sanded/primed etc...

I don't know about a coffee, I think I deserve a beer now!!